Opposition watch: Fremantle

After a nail-biting two-point victory over Richmond in Round 8, a confident Fremantle outfit is set to await Carlton on Sunday.

The Dockers will pose a significant test for the travelling Blues, having won five of their last six matches to see them placed outside the eight only by percentage.

But after challenging an in-form St Kilda last weekend, Carlton will head west eager to replicate its last meeting with Fremantle and claim its fourth win for 2017.

Blues supporters can expect another tight, low-scoring affair, with Carlton and Fremantle ranked 18th and 16th respectively for points scored.

The Dockers currently sit last for points scored in the first half, but have the wood over the Blues for second halves.

In their past three matches at Domain Stadium, the Dockers have piled on 14 final-quarter goals to claim two come-from-behind wins, while the Blues have booted just two last-term goals in the past fortnight.

Ahead of the match, experienced Carlton forward Matthew Wright said the Blues would strive for a four-quarter performance interstate.

“We’re looking forward to going over there and playing our brand of footy and we know when we can do that for four quarters it matches up pretty well against all sides,” Wright told AFL.com.au.

“We’re playing some really good footy at the minute, as Freo are from the weekend.

“It’s going to be a really good battle.”

With Fremantle looking to climb the ladder with a sixth win this weekend, senior coach Ross Lyon said his side would have to redeem its “somber” final term against the Tigers and perform strongly from the first bounce.

“We played and competed in the manner that we wanted to (against Richmond), but in the last quarter we lost our way,” Lyon told the media on Wednesday.

“We’d like to build on our mental toughness and be able to produce four quarters.

“We’ll aim to improve (against Carlton).”

Sunday’s clash will host the battle of superstar midfielders Nat Fyfe and Patrick Cripps, with the West-Australian-born forces to take to the field with a game average of 25.9 and 26 disposals respectively.

In their last encounter, Fyfe missed the entire second half with a lower leg injury, allowing Cripps to steal the limelight with 30 possessions (20 contested) to strongly influence his side’s four-point win.

Sunday’s clash will also mark Alex Silvagni’s first against his old side, with the former Docker shining in Carlton colours since crossing to the Blues in last year’s rookie draft.

After being named in the extended squad of 25, Carlton youngsters Zac Fisher and Samo Petrevski-Seton are set to play their first game in their home state, while Dale Thomas could play his 50th in the navy blue.

Both teams will name their final Round 9 squads at 5:00pm today, with the selected 44 to go to battle from 2:40pm local time on Sunday at Domain Stadium.